| Part ofa series on |
| Albanians |
|---|
 |
Native communities Diaspora
Subgroups |
.jpg)
TheCatholic Church in Albania (Albanian:Kisha Katolike në Shqipëri) is part of the worldwideCatholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome.
At the 2023 census, the percentage ofCatholics was 8.38%.[1]
Catholicism is strongest in the northwestern part of the country, which historically had the most readily available contact with, and support from,Rome and theRepublic of Venice.Mirditë has the highest concentration of Catholics, whileShkodër is the center of Catholicism inAlbania. More than 20,000 Albanian Catholics are located inMontenegro, mostly inUlcinj,Bar,Podgorica,Tuzi,Gusinje andPlav. The region is considered part of the Malsia Highlander region of the seven Albanian Catholic tribes. The region was split from theOttoman Albania after theFirst Balkan War. There are also scattered Albanian Catholics inKosovo andNorth Macedonia, with the greatest concentration being in the vicinity ofGjakova.
There are five dioceses in the country, including two archdioceses plus anApostolic Administration covering southern Albania.Caritas Albania is the official social arm of the Church.
For four centuries, theAlbanian Catholics have retained their faith with the aid of:
The Church legislation of the Albanians was reformed byPope Clement XI, effecting a general ecclesiastical visitation (1703) by theArchbishop of Antivari, at the close of which a national synod was held. Its decrees were printed by Propaganda (1705), and renewed in 1803.[3] In 1872,Pius IX caused a second national synod to be held atScutari, for the renovation of the popular and ecclesiastical life.
The country is currently split into twoEcclesiastical provinces each headed byArchbishops –Shkodër-Pult in the north andTiranë-Durrës in the centre and south. Shkodrë-Pult has twosuffragan Diocese forLezhë andSapë. Tiranë-Durrës has one suffragan Diocese forRrëshen as well as metropolitan authority over theByzantine RiteApostolic Administration of Southern Albania, also known as theAlbanian Greek-Catholic Church.[4]
| Name | Territory | Catholic Population | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archdiocese of Shkodër–Pult | Shkodër | 166,700 | 70% |
| Diocese of Lezhë | Lezhë | 86,300 | 71% |
| Diocese of Sapë | Zadrima, Vau-Dejes | 70,701 | 35% |
| Archdiocese of Tiranë-Durrës | Tirana | 135,400 | 11% |
| Diocese of Rrëshen | Rrëshen | 55,300 | 23% |
| Apostolic Administration of Southern Albania | Southern Albania | 3,000 | 0.2% |
The first known Bishop of present-day Albania was Bassus[citation needed], who was madeBishop of Scutari (Shkodër) in 387, suffragan to the Bishop ofThessaloniki, Primate of allIllyricum.[citation needed] In the 6th century, Shkodër became a suffrage ofOhrid, in the present-dayNorth Macedonia[citation needed], which was made the Primate of all Illyricum[citation needed], and by the early Middle Ages, Shkodër was suffrage of the Bishop ofDuklja, in present-dayMontenegro.[citation needed] In 1867 Shkodër was united with theArchdiocese of Antivari (Bar, Montenegro)[citation needed], but split in 1886, to become a separate Archdiocese once again with suffragan bishops in Lezhë, Sapë and Pult.The Diocese of Pult (Pulati) – a region north of Shkodër between the present day villages of Drisht and Prekal – dates back to 899, when a Bishop of Pult was appointed as a suffragan to the Bishop ofDuklja.[citation needed] The Diocese was once divided into Greater Pult and Lesser Pult but eventually merged with Shkodër in 2005. Drisht, a village north of Shkodër, also used to be a separate Bishopric. The Diocese of Sapë (Sappa) – covering the region of Zadrima between Shkodër and Lezhë – dates back to 1062, and that of Lezhë (Alessio) to the 14th century.[4]The Archdiocese of Durrës was created in the 13th century, as the Bishopric of Albanopolis[citation needed]. It united with Tirana in 1992. The Diocese of Rrëshen was split off in 1996.
The Apostolic Administration of Southern Albania was created in 1939.
Other former ancient Diocese in Albania were Dinnastrum and Balazum.[5][6]
The Albanian Catholic Church experienced a short-lived period of freedom after the fall of theOttoman Empire. It ended when the Communists came into power, government, afterWorld War II, and in 1967 constitutionally declared Albania an atheistic state. "The Church was systematically persecuted and neither the structures nor the faithful were spared. All religion symbols in churches were forcefully removed and the buildings resemblance to churches were destroyed, and used for non-religious, degrading and humiliating purposes. The cathedral in Shkoder, for example, was turned into a sports hall, and the cathedral in Durres was used as a puppet theatre. As the Pope said during his visit to Albania in 2014, these were 'decades of atrocious suffering and terrible persecution'."[7]
On 26 November 2019,an earthquake struck Albania. The Catholic Church in Albania heldMass in its churches on 27 and 28 November for earthquake victims and coordinated its relief efforts through local branches of the Catholic charityCaritas Shqiptar.[8]
According to Marco Mencaglia, project director for the Catholic charityAid to the Church in Need, the Church in Albania faces many challenges: " The Church in Tirana, the capital, in the middle of the country, is particularly in need. There are very few diocesan priests. Pastoral work is carried out by religious communities, with very little means of support. To this one must add the internal migration of people who come from the north of the country in search of a better future in the capital. The south, which has a very small number of Catholics, can be considered first-mission territory, and a starting point for a new mission. Many brave missionaries have arrived in this region to begin new communities where the church was completely unknown."[7]
According to the 2011 Albanian census, 10.03% of the population affiliated withCatholicism, while 56.7% wereMuslims, 13.79% undeclared, 6.75% Orthodox believers, 5.49% other, 2.5% Atheists, 2.09%Bektashis and 0.14% other Christians.[9]
No clear statistics of any province of the former Ottoman empire have been compiled. The CIA World Factbook uses the figures from the 1939 Census of 70% Muslim, 20%Eastern Orthodox Christian, and 10%Catholic.[10]
The 2023 census note that 8% of the population are Catholic Christians.
Catholics form a majority inLezhë County (72.38%) and the largest religious group inShkodër County (47.19%).
| Share of Catholics in Albania per place (2011 census)[11] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | Population (2011) | Catholics (%) |
| Shllak | 671 | 99.1 |
| Vig-Mnelë | 1,509 | 98.1 |
| Orosh | 1,899 | 97.7 |
| Shalë | 1,804 | 97.7 |
| Hajmel | 4,430 | 96.9 |
| Kaçinar | 1,016 | 96.8 |
| Fierzë | 1,302 | 96.5 |
| Blinisht | 3,361 | 96.0 |
| Pult | 1,529 | 95.7 |
| Rubik | 4,454 | 95.1 |
| Ungrej | 1,587 | 93.8 |
| Kelmend | 3,056 | 93.5 |
| Kallmet | 4,118 | 93.4 |
| Fan | 2,977 | 93.4 |
| Gjegjan | 2,846 | 92.6 |
| Ulëz | 1,229 | 92.6 |
| Kolç | 4,228 | 92.4 |
| Dajç | 3,834 | 92.0 |
| Rrëshen | 8,803 | 91.8 |
| Kthjellë | 2,209 | 91.5 |
| Zejmen | 5,660 | 91.0 |
| Shosh | 304 | 90.9 |
| Shënkoll | 13,102 | 87.4 |
| Temal | 1,562 | 86.1 |
| Balldre | 6,142 | 85.4 |
| Velipojë | 5,031 | 84.5 |
| Lekbibaj | 1,207 | 84.1 |
| Selitë | 745 | 82.5 |
| Kastrat | 6,883 | 82.4 |
| Qelëz | 1,761 | 82.0 |
| Qafë-Mali | 1,548 | 81.5 |
| Qerret | 1,498 | 81.0 |
| Iballë | 1,129 | 78.2 |
| Vau i Dejës | 8,117 | 77.0 |
| Fushë-Arrëz | 2,513 | 73.3 |
| Shëngjin | 8,091 | 72.4 |
| Fushë-Kuqe | 5,460 | 71.3 |
| Dajç | 3,885 | 71.1 |
| Rrapë | 1,357 | 69.9 |
| Guri i Zi | 8,085 | 66.4 |
| Lezhë | 15,510 | 65.3 |
| Shkrel | 3,520 | 62.5 |
| Laç | 17,086 | 60.7 |
| Bushat | 14,149 | 57.4 |
| Rrethinat | 21,199 | 47.4 |
| Blerim | 913 | 46.6 |
| Mamurras | 15,284 | 36.9 |
| Bërdicë | 5,773 | 36.4 |
| Baz | 2,228 | 32.9 |
| Milot | 8,461 | 32.7 |
| Kodër-Thumanë | 12,335 | 31.0 |
| Shkodër | 77,075 | 29.9 |
| Bubq | 5,951 | 29.2 |
| Fierzë | 1,607 | 28.3 |
| Gruemirë | 8,890 | 26.1 |
| Llugaj | 1,787 | 24.0 |
| Pukë | 3,607 | 22.5 |
| Ana e Malit | 3,858 | 21.6 |
| Qendër | 4,740 | 21.2 |
.jpg)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Christitch, Elizabeth (1907). "Albania". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.The documents of the medieval religious history of Albania are best found in the eight volumes ofDaniele Farlati,Illyricum Sacrum (Venice, 1751-1819). See alsoAugustin Theiner,Vetera Monumenta Slavorum meridionalium historiam illustrantia (Rome, 1863 sqq.). Ecclesiastical statistics may be seen in O. Werner,Orbis Terrarum Catholicus (Freiburg, 1890), 122-124, and 120; also in theMissiones Catholicæ (Rome, Propaganda Press, triennially).
.svg)
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| Province of Shkodër–Pult |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Province of Tiranë–Durrës | ||
| Churches | ||
| Albanian Byzantine | ||
| Saints | ||
| Blessed | ||
| Orders | ||
| Former dioceses | ||
| See also | ||
